Vehicle.



A. P. Rod-KWELL.

VEHICLE.

APPLICATION FILED nu 11, 1905.

Patented Dec. 7, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

T Il

A. F. ROGKWELL.

VEHICLE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 11. 1905.

Patented Dec. 7, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

mnnzw. s, nimm C0.. Pnoumunnmlins. wAsHmamN. u. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT F. ROCKWELL, 0F BRISTOL, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE NEWDEPARTURE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, 0F BRISTOL, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATIONOF CON- NECTICUT.

VEHICLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May l1, 1995.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT F. RooKwnLL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Bristol, Hartford county, Connecticut, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Vehicles, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisspecification.

This invention relates to improvements in vehicles, and moreparticularly to the support for the vehicle body.

One object of the invention is to provide a convenient and eiiicientstructure for permitting vertical play of the vehicle body and providinga cushion intermediate said body and the wheels of the vehicle.

A further object is to provide suoli connection between the vehicle bodyand its support that, although vertical play between said body andsupport is permitted, uneven movement between said body and support isprevented, whereby depression, for example, of one corner of the bodywill cause corresponding movement of the whole body, and also thetendency of one wheel to drop into a rut or hollow is removed orreduced.

To these ends, and also to improve generally upon structures of thecharacter indicated, the invention consists in the various mattershereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a fragmentary top plan view;Fig. 2 is an end elevation, certain of the parts being broken away; Fig.3 is a side elevation, certain of the parts being broken away; Fig. l isa transverse sectional view through the cushion cylinder on about theline mof Fig. l; and Fig. 5 is an elevation, chiefly in section, showingone end of said cylinder.

Referring now more particularly to said drawings, 2 indicates thejournals of any convenient running gear of a vehicle, said journalsreceiving the shafts 3 in a manner which will be well understood.Suitably supported upon the ruiming gear, as by means of the upwardlyextending journal posts 310 (which are shown as rising from the journals2), are longitudinally extending rock shafts 5, such shafts being hereshown as located upon opposite sides of the longitudinal center of thevehicle and within but near the vertical planes of the sides of thehereinafter mentioned body. Transverse rock shafts 17 are also provided,said latter mentioned shafts being here shown as journaled in boxes 18,such boxes being provided with sleeves 19 through which the longitudinalrock shafts 5 pass and being held against longitudinal displacement bymeans of set collars 20 and 21. Suitably secured to the rock shafts 5 torock therewith, as by means of set screws 11, are arms 8, whilecorresponding arms 13 are secured to the rock shafts 17, said arms 8extending at.substantially right angles to the arms 13. The vehicle body1 is supported by these said arms 8 and 13 in such manner that rockingof said arms and their shafts is permitted, this connection being hereshown as effected through hanger arms 6 and 12 and links 7 and 14, thehanger arms 6 being at the sides of the vehicle body and the hanger arms12 at the ends thereof and the links 7 being pivoted respectively to thehanger arms 6 and the rock arms 8 at 9 and 10 while the links 14: arepivoted respectively to the hanger arms 12 and the rock arms 13 at 15and 16.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the vehicle body is affordedvertical play with respect to the running gear or supporting base of thevehicle, and, as will be fully hereinafter described, a cushion can beprovided for relieving the shock or jar due to movement between thevehicle body and its supporting base. However, uneven movement betweenthe vehicle body and its said supporting base is prevented. For example,should the lower right hand corner of the vehicle body as shown in Fig.1 be depressed, the rock arms 8 and 13 adjacent said corner will berocked downwardly, thus rocking the right hand shaft 5 and the forwardtransverse rock shaft 17; but this rocking of said shafts will also rockthe arm 8 at the rear of thevehicle upon the said longitudinal shaft 5and the arm 13 at the left of the vehicle upon the said forwardtransverse shaft 17, whereby the upper right hand corner and the lowerleft hand corner of the vehicle body must also move downwardly; suchmovement necessarily, through the rock arms 8 and 13 respectivelyadjacent said lower left hand corner and said upper right hand corner,rocks the left hand rock shaft 5 and the rear transverse rock shaft 17(not shown), and

the rocking of these two shafts results in the depression of the upperleft hand corner of the vehicle body, all as will be readily understood.Therefore, any vertical movement given to one portion of the vehiclebody is transmitted to every other portion of said body, so that saidbody moves as a whole and sagging of any particular portion thereof isprevented. rThe rock shafts 5 and 1T are preferably made quite stiff.Furthermore, as the'wheel axles 3 are, through the journals 2 and theposts 310, connected to the said shafts 5, which are in turn connectedto the said shafts 17, the tendency of a wheel at one corner to dropinto a rut or hollow is avoided or reduced, for should some one wheelcome over a rut or hollow while the other wheels are supported upon theground, the relatively stiff shaft framing connecting all the wheelstends to hold the unsupported wheel elevated and to cause the same tomerely float over the hollow or depression. lt will also be noted thatthe connection between the side arms 8 y and the vehicle body tends toprevent longitudinal thrust of said body, while the connect-ion betweenthe end arms 13 and said body tends to prevent lateral thrust of thesame.

Manifestly many types of cushions can be provided between the vehiclebody and its supporting base, but l prefer to employ a pneumatic cushionas hereinafter described. In the illustrated embodiment of my inventiona cushion cylinder 26 extending transverse the vehicle is supported insubstantially the center of the same and upon the running gear orsupporting base, said cylinder being here shown as hung from the beforementioned longitudinal rock shafts 5 by means of a frame 22 havingforked ends 23 in which the said shafts 5 are journaled and also beingprovided with clamping arms 24 which engage the said cylinder and formwhat are substantially split collars, coperating arms being heldtogether by means of the draw bolts 25. Said cylinder 26 is adapted toreceive air or other suitable fluid under proper pressure, 'and withinthe cylinder are pistons 30 between which the air is received. Thesepistons are connected to the rock shafts, this connection being hereshown as effected through piston rods 29 pivoted to the pistons at 31and also pivoted at 32 to rock arms 33 secured to the rock shafts 5 torock therewith. Preferably the said rock arms to which the pistons arein more direct connection are also connected to the vehicle body, thisconnection being here shown as effected through rock arms 34 formedintel grally with said rock arms 33 and connected to hanger arms 35 uponthe vehicle body in the same manner in which the rock arms 8 areconnected to the hanger arms 6. Preferably the piston-rod openingsthrough the cylinder heads 27 are protected by some suitable packing 2Sin order to exclude dust from the cylinder 26.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that, the cylinder having aproper charge of air or other cushioning iiuid, depression of thevehicle body serves to move the pistons 30 toward each other, thuscompressing the air in the cylinder and relieving the shock or jar whichmight result from the movement of said body, while the followingexpansion of the air serves to return the vehicle body to its normalposition, the movement of said body being thus cushioned in a mannerwhich will be readily apparent.

It is, of course, desirable to prevent movement of both pistons in thesame direction, z'. c., to prevent one piston from moving toward one endof the cylinder and the other piston from following the first mentionedpiston toward the same end of said cylinder, and such undesirablemovement is rendered impossible by reason of the before describedconnections between the pistons and the rock shafts and between saidrock shafts and the wagon body; for, as will be apparent from theforegoing explanation, tilting of the vehicle body with relation to itssupporting base is impossible. Manifestly the cushion cylinder 2G can belocated in other positions than that illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, and two on more cylinders can be employed in lieu of thesingle cylinder shown, although the use of the single cylinder ispreferable from the standpoint of simplicity. rl`he cylinder can, ofcourse, be charged in any suitable or convenient manner, a satisfactoryconstruction being one including a reservoir tank 3G suitably supportedupon the vehicle and connected to the inlet port 38 of the cushioncylinder by any suitable piping 37. The cushion cylinder 26 is alsopreferably provided with a discharge or exhaust port 4G.

Preferably the pressure in the cushion cylinder is automaticallyproportioned to the load upon the vehicle body. A simple means of doingthis is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. rlhe inlet port 38 iscontrolled by an oscillatory valve 39,

while the discharge port 46 is controlled by another such valve 45, eachof these valves being provided with an operating arm, 40 and 49respectively, while connection is made between the vehicle body and saidarms, said connection being shown as effected through rods 42 and 47respectively, each of these rods preferably having ball and socketconnection with the vehicle body, as at 43 and 43, and having looseconnection with its arm 40 or 49, as by a slot, 44 and 50 respectively,receiving a pin upon the valve operating arm. This loose connectionpermits limited play between the vehicle body and its supporting basewithout aecting the said valves, but should the vehicle body be undulydepressed, as by reason of an increased load, the rod 42 rocks the valve39 and admitsadditional fluid into the cylinder 26, while if thepressure in the cylinder becomes too great for the load, as by reason oflightening the load, the upward movement of the vehicle body due to theoutward movement of the pistons causes the rod 47 to rock the valve 45and open the exhaust port 46, the exhausting of the cylinder continuinguntil the pressure in the cylinder has become properly proportioned tothe load and the vehicle body has thus settled to its normal position.'Normally both valves are closed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is- 1. In a vehicle, a supporting base, a bodyhaving movement with relation thereto, means for maintaining parallelismbetween said base and said body, said means including rockable elementsconnected to said base and said body, rock arms upon said rockableelements, a cylinder adapted to receive a fluid cushion, and pistons insaid cylinder and connected to said respective rock arms; substantiallyas described.

2. In combination, a vehicle body, its trucks or axles, thelongitudinally extending rock shafts, the transverse shafts pivotallysupported thereon, jointed connections between the rock shafts and thetransverse shafts and the vehicle body, and a fluid pressure devicecontrolling the rock shafts; substantially as described.

3. In combination, a vehicle body, its trucks or axles, thelongitudinally extending rock shafts, jointed connections between thesides of the body and said rock shafts at a plurality of points alongsaid shafts, the transverse shafts supported upon said rock shafts, anda plurality of jointed ,connections between the ends of the body andsaid transverse shafts; substantially as described.

4. In a vehicle, a supporting base, a body having movement with relationthereto, means for maintaining parallelism between said base and saidbody irrespective of the position of the load on the vehicle body, saidmeans including transverse and longitudinal rock shafts, a cylinderadapted to receive a Huid cushion, movable fluid actuated means in saidcylinder and connections between said movable means and the rock shafts.

5. In a vehicle, a supporting base, a body having movement with relationthereto, means for maintaining parallelism between said base and saidbody, said means including longitudinal and transverse rock shafts, avariable elastic pressure device for maintaining the body and base apredetermined distance apart irrespective of the applied load, and meansfor operatively connecting said elastic pressure device to the rockshafts.

6. In a vehicle, a body, its trucks or axles, means for maintainingparallelism between said vehicle body and its trucks or axles, saidmeans comprising a single transversely arranged fluid vpressure supportfor the body, and rock shafts having connection with said fluid pressuresupport operated by an up and down movement of the body to automaticallyregulate the fluid pressure in said support to compensate for variationsin load.

7 In a vehicle, the combination with its trucks or axles, and a' bodyabove the same, of rock shafts for maintaining parallelism of the bodywith respect to the trucks or axles, and a cushioning device cooperatingwith the body, said cushioning device being carried by the said rockshafts.

8. In a vehicle, the combination with a base, of longitudinal andtransverse rockshafts, rock arms carried by said rock-shafts, abody-frame connected to said rock arms whereby any movement imparted toone of said rock arms will be communicated to all of said rock arms, anda single cushioning device connected to sets of rock arms through therock-shafts.

9. In a vehicle, a supporting base, a body having movement toward andaway from said base, cushioning mechanism for such movement of saidbody, said mechanism including movable elements having a spring elementcommon to and cooperating with both said movable elements, and means forpreventing one of said movable elements of the cushioning mechanism fromfollowing the other thereof.

10. In a vehicle, the combination with a body, of a supporting basetherefor, a longitudinal rock-shaft, a transverse rock-shaft, one ofsaid rock-shafts being pivotally supported upon the other thereof,connections between each of said rock-shafts and said body, and a springmechanism controlling said rock-shafts.

11. In a vehicle, a body, a supporting base therefor, a longitudinalrock-shaft, a transverse rock-shaft, one of said rock-shafts beingsupported upon the other thereof, and a plurality of jointed connectionsbetween each of said rock-shafts and said body.

12. An equalizing and cushioning mechanism for vehicles, comprisingrock-shafts, and a cushioning means including oppositely movableco-acting members connected to said rock-shafts.

13. In a vehicle, the combination with a body, of a supporting basetherefor, longitudinal rock-shafts, transverse rock-shafts, one set ofrock-shafts being pivotally supported upon the other thereof,connections between said rock-shafts and said body, and a cushioningmeans connected to one set of rock shafts, said cushioning meansincluding positively movable co-acting members.

14. In a vehicle, the combination with a base and a body having movementwith respect thereto, of rock-shafts carried by the base, rock-armsconnected to said rock-shafts and connected to the body, depending armsconnected to the rock-shafts, a piston mechanism connected to saiddepending arms for exerting a spring pressure against said body tomaintain the body above the base, and means supported byv saidrock-shafts and connected to the body and coperating with therock-shafts for maintaining parallelism between the base and the body.

15. In a vehicle, the combination with a base and a body having movementwith respect thereto, of a rock-shaft carried by the base, means forconnecting said rock-shaft to said body, a rock-shaft transversely ofthe rst-na1ned rock-shaft and supported thereby, means for connectingsaid transverse rock-shaft to the vehicle` body, and a cushioning devicecoperating with said rockshafts for cushioning the body.

16. In a vehicle, a supporting base, a body movable toward and away fromthe same, a longitudinal rock shaft along each side of said base, atransverse rock shaft along each end of said base, a plurality of rockarms upon each said rock shaft and connected to said body, whereby eachside and end of said body is connected to a rock shaft at a plurality ofpoints, additional rock-arms upon a pair of said rock shafts which areplaced opposite each other, and a spring device having its springelement between said last mentioned rock-arms, substantially asdescribed.

17. 4In a vehicle, a supporting base, a body movable toward and awayfrom the same, a longitudinal rock shaft along cach side of said base, atransverse rock shaft along each end of said base, a plurality ofrock-arms upon each said rock shaft and connected to said body, wherebyeach side and end of said body is connected to a rock shaft at aplurality of points, additional rock-arms upon a pair of said rockshafts which are placed opposite each other, a spring cylinder, andpistons in said cylinder connected to said last mentioned rock-arms, thespring element being interposed between said pistons; substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aiix my signature, in the presence oftwo witnesses.

ALBERT F. ROCKVELL.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM E. W'IGHTMAN, GALES P. MOORE.

It is hereby eertied that in Letters Patent No. 942,219, grantedDecember 7,

1909, upon the application of Albert F. Rockwell, of Bristol,Connecticut, for an improvement in Vehicles, an error appears in theprinted specification requiring correction, as follows: Page 2, line 96,the Word on should read 07",' and that the said Letters Patent should beread With this correction therein, that the same may conform to therecord of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 28th-day of December, A. D., 1909.

E. B. MOORE,

Commissioner of Patents.

[SEAL

